A single member household uses an average of ** cubic meters of water annually in the United Kingdom. This figure almost doubled when there were two members per household and increased to approximately *** cubic meters within a household of five. In terms of daily use, a single person household used an estimated *** liters per day, with water usage amounting to *** liters per day when two people lived at home. Baths consume the most water There are many household appliances that use water, such as dishwashers, washing machines or toilets, and each uses varying amounts. However, it is baths that use the largest quantity. On average, a bath consumes ** liters of water per use. In comparison, a shower uses ** liters per use. Household water bills The average household water bill in the UK differs from company to company. In 2018, customers of water supply and sewerage utility Wessex Water paid on average *** British pounds for their water bill. This was the most expensive in the UK. Water bills were on average cheapest for customers of Southern Water, at an estimated *** British pounds. Southern Water covers areas of East Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The average person in England and Wales used roughly *** liters of water per day as of 2024. This means that a household of four could potentially use more than *** liters of water a day. Portsmouth Water customers had the highest daily water usage in England and Wales in 2023, at *** liters per person. Metered and un-metered water usage The amount of water consumed by households can vary depending on whether the customer has a water meter installed. On average, households in England and Wales with a water meter consumed around ** liters less per person than those without a water meter. While most homes have traditional water meters, smart water meters have been rolled out since 2016. These allow customers to track water usage, save money, and allow water companies to detect leaks. What uses the most water in UK homes? The average water consumption of household appliances varies greatly, with some using significantly more than others. A full bath uses the largest amount of water by far, at approximately ** liters. This is ** liters more than the average washing machine cycle. Meanwhile, a dishwasher on an eco-setting can noticeably reduce water consumption when compared with a regular cycle.

Water usage per person in Scotland is the highest in the United Kingdom on average, at 165 liters. This is noticeably more than in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, where less than 150 liters is used per person per day on average.

Portsmouth Water customers consumed the most water per person per day in England and Wales in financial year 2024, at ***** liters. This was higher than their three-year rolling average of ***** liters per person per day. Nevertheless, Affinity Water is still the company with the highest three-year rolling average at *** liters per person per day.

Household water consumption varies greatly from appliance to appliance, with baths and washing machines consuming by far the most. A full bath in the United Kingdom uses an average of ** liters of water, while showers are far less demanding. An electric shower uses just **** liters per minute, with power showers slightly less efficient at ** liters per minute.

Household water usage in the UK

The average water usage per person in England and Wales was *** liters per day in financial year 2022, with a three-year rolling average of *** liters per day. Water consumption varies depending on whether the customer has metered or un-metered water, with metered water consumption far lower than customers without a water meter.

Water bills

Combined household water and sewerage bills in England and Wales averaged 417 British pounds for the year ended March 2023. On average, customers of South West Water had the most expensive water and sewerage bills in the UK , at *** British pounds. It is forecasted that bills from this utility will decrease for the year ending March 2022.

Household water consumption in England and Wales is far lower for metered customers when compared to non-metered customers. In financial year 2024, metered customers in England and Wales used an average of ***** liters per person daily, compared with ****** liters per day for non-metered customers.

In financial year 2024, water consumption for metered Essex and Suffolk Water customers averaged ***** liters per day. This was the highest household water consumption throughout England and Wales for metered customers that year. Water consumption for metered customers is typically far lower when compared with non-metered customers. Households with metered water consumption in England and Wales averaged ***** liters of water per person per day in financial year 2024.

The data here was collected as part of a PhD studentship conducting research alongside partners the Beacon Project (a collaboration between Anglian Water and WaterAid). The data consists of household survey data collected at 56 locations in Lahan, Nepal from 28-09-2022 to 18-12-2022. The household survey was conducted with the aid of a local translator who spoke both the national language: Nepali, as well as the local dialect: Maithili. The survey questions were asked by the translator and the responses relayed back to the author in English. For simplicity, and to avoid the survey taking up too much of the participant’s time, the translator did not translate responses word-for-word. The responses therefore involved some interpretation and summarising by the translator. The responses were recorded by the author using the mWater app. The survey had several aims, the first of which was to record the number of people using the piped supply so that the water consumption in litres per capita per day could be calculated. The next aim was to record the household assets relating to their water access. The household storage volume was estimated using the volume and quantity of their storage containers (larger containers are typically labelled with their volume making this a reliable estimate). The households were also asked to estimate the contribution of the piped supply to meeting their water needs in comparison to other sources. Another objective of the research was to establish how households behave in relation to their piped water supply. Therefore, questions relating to the typical manner in which households use water were included in the survey. The household’s perceptions of their current piped water supply were assessed in terms of both hours of supply per day and their perceived water quality. Another aim was to establish households’ consumer demand satisfaction (CDS) and their attitudes towards changes in the water supply. CDS is a challenging attribute to measure directly. Instead, two questions regarding the household’s desire for longer supply hours and for more water were selected. These aimed to establish their desire for increased piped water availability, which could be viewed as a proxy for their current demand satisfaction.The survey questions were checked against the ‘Core questions on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene for household surveys’ (UNICEF & WHO, 2018). This survey includes all the relevant questions set out in the ‘core questions for drinking water’ section of this international standard.In addition, the International Wealth Index (IWI) of the household was collected, IWI is a global standard aimed at estimating household wealth in a universally comparable way based on household assets (Smits & Steendijk, 2015). To assess the current piped water availability of households from a water security perspective, the Household Water InSecurity Experiences (HWISE) (Young et al., 2019) survey was employed. The HWISE scale aims to measure water insecurity in a universal scale to aid comparison across locations and cultures.The ethical approval number for this research is: 049120

Welsh Water customers had the highest annual combined water and sewerage bill in England and Wales for the year ended March 2023, at *** British pounds. This was considerably more than the average combined household water and sewerage bill in England and Wales that year. Water utilities companies in Britain In 1989, the water sector in England and Wales became privatized, resulting in the sale of the ** regional water authorities, including Severn Trent, United Utilities, and Anglian Water. With more than ** million customers, Thames Water is the largest water and wastewater company in Great Britain. Water infrastructure in Britain Between 2015 and 2020, investment in Britain's water sector totaled ** billion British pounds. This averaged some ***** British pounds per property over the five year period. Water companies own hundreds of thousands of kilometers of water pipes that span the country. However, many pipes date back to the Victorian era and are prone to leakage. Because of this, billions of liters of water are lost every day.

This dataset comprises seven ensembles of hydrological model estimates of monthly mean and annual maximum river flows (m3s-1) on a 0.1° × 0.1° grid (approximate grid of 10 km × 10 km) across West Africa for historical (1950 to 2005) and projected future (2006 to 2099) periods. This dataset is the output from the Hydrological Modelling Framework for West Africa, or 'HMF-WA' model. The ensembles correspond to historical and three projected future climate scenarios (RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) with two future scenarios of water use. The scenarios of water use are (i) future water use that varies in line with projected population increases, and (ii) future water use is the same as present day. This dataset is an output from the regional scale hydrological modelling study from African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis-2050 (AMMA-2050) project.